The Barlowe Pass parking felt emptier than usual, arrived around 6 and was the second car parked. Facilities were in good condition for such a popular spot!
The rainfall the days prior to this weather window made the creek crossings on the trail up significantly wider and deeper than I had been told to expect by a friend. Even had to pull my boots off and do some calf-deep wading to get across one creek at about 2.3 miles in. Luckily, these were a bit shallower on the way down. That being said, I'd be careful about doing this hike with the possibility of rain moving in during the shoulder season. These mountains love to shed water!
The trail up to the Basin is well defined and challenging. If one chooses to scramble past Foggy Lake the trail becomes less defined to non-existent, though plenty of cairns mark helpful suggestions of where to head to the ridge. I read and watched trip reports from various sources that advised taking the tops of the large slabs to approach the top. I attempted these slabs 3 times, but opted each time to return down to the scree field and make my way up the seams between the large slabs and the scree to the final Gothic Peak haystack. Each time I evaluated these wet, sloped slabs the loose scree seemed like the safer choice. The final scramble was snow-free, though one steep, loose section had me choose a slightly more exposed route with better grip.
Overall distance with Gothic Peak was 13.1 miles. Summited at 11:38 (5.5 hours) and got back to the parking lot at 4:20 (10 hours, 5 minutes).
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